World Telegraph Monument
The World Telegraph Monument is a memorial with a fountain on Helvetiaplatz in front of the Historical Museum in Bern .
It is reminiscent of the World Telegraph Association founded in 1865 and was executed in 1922 based on a project by Giuseppe Romagnoli (1872–1966) from Bologna , which emerged victorious from a competition held in 1911.
description
On a monumental base between two fountain basins made of calcium silicate stands a group of figures made of bronze, divided into thematic units (family, physical and mental work, pain, fertility, mercy), which is dominated in the middle by a seated female figure and is intended to represent how the " Souls of the peoples ”.
On the south side there was originally a plaque with the names of the 83 founding states of the association, but since the centenary of the association in 1965 it has been covered by a plaque that bears the names of the then 128 member states and was donated by the Federal Council .
The following is also available in French:
"Union Télégraphique Internationale fondée à Paris en 1865 sur l'initiative du gouvernement français. Érigé par décision de l'Union Télégraphique prize à la conference international de Lisbonne en 1908. "
Translation:
- “ International Telecommunication Union , founded in Paris in 1865 at the suggestion of the French government. Erected in accordance with the decision of the Telecommunications Union on the occasion of the international conference in Lisbon in 1908. "
Mention in the literature
In his classic book for young people, Mein Name ist Eugen von Klaus Schädelin , the child-like narrator describes the fountain figure as Helvetia and writes about her:
“What I hate this iron Helvetia, this giant madam, since I was once told in second grade to climb onto her lap and then the Bäschteli pulls me off with his Kodak , and that is a nice memory. The three of them helped me with their giant lap on the Helvetia, and not only was I very dizzy and ashamed there, as always with girls, but from downstairs they laughed and called me Bubi, and then suddenly they were gone, and I was left alone in a wide lap. In addition, the Helvetia skirt was very hot from the sun, and because I was only in the second grade, I cried as much as I could until the station director rescued me from the Muribähnli. That was one of my biggest embarrassments, especially because the Bäschteli had actually photographed me, but only when I was crying. And since then they have said to me every morning at school: "Eugen, think how you were on the monument!"
See also
In Bern there is also the monument of the Universal Postal Union .
Web links
- Information on the World Telegraph Monument on g26.ch ( Memento from October 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 46 ° 56 ′ 37.6 " N , 7 ° 26 ′ 56.7" E ; CH1903: 600,796 / 199187